Hydraulic Press Controls

IPACT has engineers on staff with experience in hydraulic press controls utilizing Modicon, GE and Allen Bradley PLCs.  These systems where interfaced with Oil Gear PVL pumps, servo valves, proportional valves, Vickers and Rexroth hydraulic components.  In one example a manufacturer was using a 600 ton single action press with a hydraulic cushion.  The original press controls were designed to draw to a given limit switch position or mechanical stop blocks while waiting for a certain press tonnage to be archived. 

The disadvantages to this design were a.) drawing to a limit switch position resulted in quality problems as the part depth was inconsistent and b.) drawing to a given pressure was slow and caused problems with the finished parts thinning out and sometimes fracturing as a result of excess tonnage.  These problems were solved by upgrading the control system. 

The new system consisted of a Modicon PLC, operator interface, new electro-hydraulic interface and linear position transducer.  The press was now able to draw a part to a consistent depth while the tonnage was controlled so that excess thinning or fracture was greatly reduced.  The operator now was able store operating parameters such as draw depth, fast advance speed, pressing speed, press tonnage and cushion tonnage.  This enabled the customer to quickly go from one part to another.

Integrated Process Automation & Control Technologies